Air conditioner



June 2l, 1955 w. D. HESS 2,711,038

AIR CONDITIONER Filed May 3, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVENTOR.

June 21, 1955 w D, HESS 2,711,088

AIR vCONDITIONER Filed* May 3, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 3' Je f i I I ,5. iwi

@wry/PMSI June 21, 1955 w. D. HESS 2,711,088

AIR CONDITIONER Y v K Filed May s, 1954 4 Sheets-sheet 4 l A W 7/ 49 f7 United States Patent O AIR CONDITIONER William D. Hess, Evansville, Ind., assigner to Servel, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application May 3, 1954, Serial No. 427,236

3 Claims. (Cl. 62--129) The present invention relates to air conditioning and more particularly to improvements in the control for room air conditioners of the type illustrated and described in a copending application for United States Letters Patent of John H. Jennings, Serial No. 391,453 iiled Nov. 12, 1953.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a room air conditioner with a single movable element for controlling operation of the refrigeration system and air circulating fans and the opening and closing of separate fresh air inlet and stale air exhaust `dampers in a predetermined sequence.

Another object is to provide a room air conditioner of the type indicated having a rotatable element movable in either direction to control operation of the elements of the conditioner including the opening and closing of separate fresh and exhaust air dampers at particular angular positions.

Another object is to provide a single dial control for a room air conditioner having a shaft for operating control switches and cams for 'actuating separate fresh and exhaust air dampers in a coordinated sequence to cool and dehumidify the air, ventilate with or without cooling or exhaust stale air. l

Still another object is to provide a control arrangement for a room air conditioner which is of simple and compact construction, economical to manufacture and reliable in operation.

These and other objects will become more apparent from the following description and drawings in which like reference' characters denote like parts throughout the several views. Itis to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and not a definition of the limits of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to thev appended claims. In the drawing:

Fig. l is'a sectional side view of a room air conditioner incorporating the novel features of the present inventionk and showing the single rotatable control element for actuating the control switches and fresh and exhaust air dampers at diierent angular positions;

Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the relationship of the elements of the control;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the manually actuated vdial of the control;

Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view taken on line 4 4 of Fig. l showing the separate levers and linkages for operating the fresh and stale air dampers, respectively;

Fig. 5 is a sectional View takenon line 5 5 of Fig. 4 showing the actuating levers mounted to rock on a common vertical axis and the cams on the shaft for actuating the levers independently of each other;

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 6 6 of Fig. l showing the hinged mounting of the dampers and the torsion springs for yieldingly holding the dampers in closed position;

Fig. 7 is a sectional plan view taken on line 7 7 of Fig. l showing the housing extending rearwardly from r, s. 1C@ j strass unit adapted to be mounted between the sill and sash of I a window or other opening in the wall of a room. It will be understood, however, that the present invention may be applied to other types of room air conditioners such as console and other types. As illustrated in Figs. `1 and 2, the room air conditionercomprises a base 10 mounting a heat receiving element 11 at one end Land a heat rejecting element 12 at its opposite end. In the illustrated embodiment, the heat receiving element 11 constitutes the evaporator and the heat rejecting element 12 constitutes the condenser of a refrigeration system. An Velectrically driven compressor 13 is mounted on the base and suitably connected to the evaporator 11 and condenser 12 to provide a refrigeration system as well understood by those skilledV inthe art. A transverse wall 14 extends upwardly'from the base 10 and coopcrates with a weather casing 15 to provide an outer compartment 16 adapted to project outwardly from the roomgto be conditioned into the atmosphere. Side walls 17 and. 18 project upwardly from the' base forwardly of transverse wall 14 and a top wall 19 extends inwardly from the transverse wall to provide an inner compartment 20 adapted to project into; theV enclosure. An intermediate wall 21 extends between the side walls 17 and 18 to divide the inner compartment into a lower chamber 22 and an .upper chamber 23. The lower and upper chambers 22 and 23are open at the forward end of the compartment and a decorative casing 24 encloses the ywalls of the compartment andV provides an air inlet openingrZS at the bottom and an air outlet opening 26 above the intermediate wall.

A -fan 27 Ais provided in the compartment 16 for circulating outside air through the compartmentandfcondenser 12. Fan 27 rotates ina circular opening in a housing 29 enclosing the condenser 12 and draws air into compartment 16 through louvers 28 in the weather casing 15 and discharges it through an outlet opening 30 in the casing at the rear of the condenser. Acentrifugal fan 31 also is provided in compartment 2t) for circulating room air through the compartment and evaporator 11. Fan 31 comprises a casing with an air inlet opening 32 inthe lower chamber` 22 of compartment 20 and an outlet 33 in the upper chamber 23. Thus, fan 31 draws room air into the lower chamber 22 through the air inlet opening 2S and evaporator 11 and delivers the cooled air into, the upper chamber 23 from which it is discharged into the room through the outlet opening 26.

An electric motor 34 in the outer compartment 16 is connected to operate the fan 27 and rotor of centrifugal fan 31 simultaneously. As thus far described, the room air conditioner is substantially identical with the conditioner illustrated and described'in the copending Jennings application Serial No. 391,453, referred to above.

In accordance with the present invention, a fresh air lnlet opening 35 and stale air outlet opening 36 are provided in the transverse wall 14. The fresh air inlet opening 35 opens into a channel 37 formed between the side wall 18a of lower chamber 22'of the inner cornpartment 20 and the sidewall 24a of the decorative casing 24, see Figs. 1, 2 and 4. The channel 37 communicates with vthe lower or suction chamber 22 for fan 31 at the front of the evaporatorll, the fresh air owing forwardly along the side and under the drip pan for 'Patented .time ai, rasa,

the evaporator. A housing, 3S extends rearwardly and outwardly from the air inlet opening 35 into the outer compartment 16 and laterally to the side of the weather casing and overlies louvered openings 28a in the latter outside the room to be conditioned. TheV stale air exhaust opening 36 is located in the transverse wall 14 at the rear of the upper chamber 23. The fresh air inlet opening 35 is adapted to be opened and closed by a damper 39 while the stale air exhaust opening is adapted to be opened and closed by a damper 4t), see Figs. 4, 5 and 6. The dampers 39 and 49 are illustrated in the form of hinged doors with the damper 39 mounted to swing about a vertical axis on the hinges 4i and damper 40 mounted to swing about a horizontal axis on the hinges 42. Helical springs 43 and 44 operate between the casing and dampers to yieldingly hold the doors in closed position with respect to the openings 35 and 35. it will be noted that the fresh air iniet opening 35 coinmunicates with the suction side of the fan 31 in chamber 22 while the stale air exhaust opening 36 is located in the upper chamber 23 at the outlet side of the fan so that the fan will tend to suck in fresh outside air or exhaust stale room air under pressure when the respective damper 39 or d@ is open.

A single control element 46 is provided for starting and stopping the compressor 13 and fan motor 34 in a particular sequence and operate dampers 39 and 40 in coordination with the operation of the compressor and fan to selectively cool and dehumidify the air in the room or add outside fresh air to the room with or without cooling or exhaust stale air from the room. The single control element 46 is illustrated in the form of a dial, see Figs. l and 3, conveniently located at the top of the decorative casing proiecting into the room. The dial 46 is marked with suitable indicia and is adapted to be turned in either direction relative to ankindex mark 47 on the casing to select the desired operating condition. Dial 46 is mounted on and rigidly connected to` the upper projecting end of a shaft 48 extending through a control box 49 and mounting cams 50 and 51 for operating the dampers 39 and 40.

The control box 49 has separate electric switches 52 and 53 therein connected to start and stopoperation of the compressor 13 and fan motor 34 at diierent angular positions of the shaft. The switches 52 and 53 may take other forms but in the form illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 9, the switches comprise movable contacts 52a and 53a and a plurality of angularly related fixed contacts 52h, 52C, 52d, 52e, 52j, and 52g and 53b, 53c,53d, 53e, 53j, and 53g, respectively. The movable contact 52a of switch 52 is connected to one side L1 of an electric service main and is adapted to energize and start the motor driven compressor 13 when the movable contact is in engagement with any of the iixedcontacts 52e, 52d and 52e, and deenergize and stop the compressor when in engagement with fixed contacts 52j, 52g and 52h. The movable contact 53a is connected to the line Li and energizes the fan motor 34 to operate at high speed when in engagement with xed contacts 53c,i 53e, 53f and 53g, energize and operate the fan motor at low speed when in engagement with fixed contact 53d and deenergize and stop the fan motor when in engagement with fixed contact 53h. The movable contacts 52a and 53er rotate with the shaft 48 so as to engage the fixed contacts at different angular positions. The fixed contacts 5213 to 52g and 53a to 53g are shown spaced at equal angular distances, but it will be understood that the actual spacing of the contacts corresponds to the positions marked on the dial 46, see Fig. 4.

The cams 50 and 51, as shown most clearly in Figs. 4 and 5, are located one above the other on the depending end of the vertical shaft 48 and have peripheral cam surfaces with lobes-and dwells for opening and closing the dampers 39 and 40 through suitable linkages at different angular positions of the shaft related to the position of the switch contacts 52a and 53a, The linkage for actuating therdamper 40 comprises a bell crank leyer 54 mounted to rock on a pin 55 supported by a suitable bracket, see Fig. 5. The lever is in the form of a the separate arms of the bell crank. A' cam follower 57 at the end of one arm engages the peripheryv of the cam 56 and a pushrod 58 connects the end of the other arm of the bell crank to a lug on the 'damper 40. Wheny the lobe Stia of cam 50 is moved relative to the. follower 57 it rocks the lever 54' counterclockwise as viewed in Fig. 4 and operating through the pushrod 58, rocks the damper 40 on its hinges 42 to uncover the opening y36 in the transverse wall 1'4.

The linkage for operating the damper 39 comprises a lever 69 mounted to rock on the fixed pin S5 below the bell crank lever 54. One end of the lever has a cam follower 61 engaging the periphery of the cam 51 and the opposite end of the lever extends through a slot 62 in the transverse wall` 14., A linkk bar63 hasl one'end pivotally connected to the rearward kend' of the 1evet.,6 0 and its opposite end connected to an actuatingl arm 64 projecting rearwardly from the damper 39. As illus trated most clearly in Fig. 6,7the yactuating arm 64 is in the form of af rodhaving a rightangular bend 65 lying against the surface of the damper and clamped in position thereon by an angle bracket 66. The rodprojects upwardly from the connecting bracket 66 through Y 61 it rocks the lever 60 counterclockwise and operating through the bar link 63 and actuating arm 64 swings ihe damper 39 to uncover the fresh air inlet opening 35. ,One

form of the invention havingnow been, described` in.l i

detail, the mode of operation is explained asvfolllows:v

For purposes of description let it be assumed that-the` f air conditioning unit is mounted inra .window or other `i wall opening with the decorative casing 24 projecting into the room and the weather casingsvlS projecting; out-Y wardly from the room into the atmosphere. ,When the,

dial 46 is in the Off positionillustrated inFig. 3, the Y i control switches 52 and 53 are open andthe dampers 39 and. 40 are closed and the cams areV in the-positions illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. Thus, outsideV air is pref vented from entering the room androom air is..pr'ef vented from flowing outwardly to the atmosphere.

'rhs dni 4s may be rotated. in einer direction te obtain. the desired operating condition. By rotating the. dial 46 clockwise from the position shown in Fig. 3,Y cooling may be obtained with or without the additionof fresh air andby rotating the dial counterclockwise, ventilation maybe obtained. with the addition of fresh air or the, exhaust. of

stale air. For any particular operating condition desiredI the indicated condition on the, dial is, brought into register with the index mark on the casing. ,For example, *ifAV maximum coolingl is desired without Vthe, introduction of outside fresh air or the exhaust ofl stale room air,. the

dialmay be rotated clockwise asyiewed in Fig. 31 to register the Full on position with the index mark 47 on the casing. `Such rotation of the. dial 46 is transmitted through the shaft. 48 tok simultaneously engage the movable contacts 52a and `53a with the fixed'l con-4 tacts 52e and 53e,4 see Fig. 9. A Circuit is then completed from L1 of the service main through contacts ,52a and 52e to the electric motor for compressor unit 13. The circuit is completed from the compressor motor to the other side of the line L2 of the service main. When the compressor is started it'producesa refrigerating effect iin thef p Y. evaporator as well understood. by those skilled inthe art. i

Simultaneously lwith the energization of t'hg; circuit for operating compressor 13, a circuit is completedfrorn L1 through the switch contacts 53a and 53C to the high speed terminal of the electric fan motor 34. The circuit to the motor 34-is completed from a common conductor to the line L2 as illustrated in Fig. 9. Motor 34 drives the rotor of the fan 31 at high speed to draw in room air through the air inlet opening 25 and throughthe evaporator 11 in the lower chamber 22 of the inner compartment 20. The air flowing in contact with the evaporator 11 is cooled and dehumidied and the fan discharges the air into the upper chamber 23 of the inner compartment 20 and back into the room through the outlet opening 26 in the decorative casing 24. Motor 34 also drives fan 27 at high speed which draws in outside air through the louvers 2S in the sides of the weather casing and propels it through the housing 29 and condenser 12 back to the atmosphere through the outlet opening `3) at the rear of the casing to cool the condenser. The unit continues to operate in the manner described to circulate room air into contact with the cooling element or evaporator 11 of the refrigeration system to cool and dehumidify the air in the room at a maximum rate.

lf it is desired to cool a mixture of room air and outside fresh air at a low fan speed for sleeping comfort, the dial 46 is rotated clockwise as viewed in Fig. 3 to register the Nite condition on the dial with the index mark 47 on the casing. During such rotation of the dial 46 and shaft 48, contact 52a of switch 52 is moved into engagement with fixed contact 52d to maintain the compressor in operation and the contact 53a of switch 53 is moved into engagement with xed contact 53d to disconnect it from the high speed terminal and connect it to the low speed terminal of the fan motor 34, see Fig. 9. The lobe 51a of the cam 51 also actuates the lever 60 counterclockwise during rotation of shaft 48 as viewed in Fig. 4 to rock the damper or door 39 to the dotted position illustrated in Fig. 7. Outside fresh air is then drawn in through the louvers 28a in the weather casing 15 by fan 31 and through the housing 33 and passageway 37 to the front of the evaporator 11 where it mixes with room air entering the air inlet opening 25. The mixture of room air and outside fresh air is then drawn through the evaporator 11 and into fan 31. Thus, the unit operates at the Nite setting to add a portion of outside fresh air to the room air being circulated and operates the fan at low speed to reduce the noise which might interfere with sleeping.

When the dial 46 is rotated clockwise to the next Fresh Air operating position, the compressor 13 is maintained in operation by the engagement of contact 52a of switch 52 with contact 52e and the fan motor 34 is returned to high speed operation by the engagement of contact 53a of switch 53 with fixed contact 53e. The air conditioning unit then operates in the same way as-explained with respect to the Full on position except that a portion ot' outside fresh air is added to the room air recirculated through the evaporator 11.

Rotation of dial 46 clockwise to the next operative position stops operation of the compressor 13 by the engagement of contact 52a of switch 52 with the open circuit fixed contact 52f but maintains the fan motor 34 in operation at high speed by the engagement of contact 53a of switch 53 with xed contact 53]", see Fig. 9. The air conditioning unit then operates to recirculate room air and add a portion of outside fresh air to the room'. Such a condition is desirable in the spring and fall when no cooling is necessary but the air in the room is stagnant or devitalized.

By rotating the dial 46 clockwise to the next Exhaust position, the air conditioning unit operates to exhaust stale air from the room without cooling or the addition of outside fresh air. Rotation of the dial 46 and shaft 43 causes the lobe 51a of cam 51 to move away from the follower 61 on the lever 6i) so that spring 43, see Fig. 6, rocks damper 39 on its hinges 41 to close the fresh air inlet opening 35. Simultaneously with the closing of the damper 39, the lobe 50a on cam 50 moves relative to the follower 57 to rock the bell crank 54 which acts through the pushrod 58 to rock the damper 40 on its hinges 42 to open position. Air in the room is then drawn into the lower chamber 22 of inner compartment 26 and is discharged by the fan 31 into the upper charnber 23. The combined action of the fans 31 and 27 operates to exhaust the room air outwardly through the exhaust opening 36 and propel it through the housing 29 and outlet opening in the weather casing to the atmosphere. Thus, stale room air is exhausted from the room.

Rotation of the dial 46 and shaft 48 clockwise `from the Exhaust position to the Off position causes the lobe Stia of cam 50 to move away from the cam follower 57 and the spring 44 rocks the damper 40 to its closed position. Simultaneously, the switches 52 and 53 are movedrto their initial Off position to stop operation of the air conditioning unit. It will be obvious that the dial 46 may be turned counterclockwise to obtain any desired operating condition as well as being moved in a clockwise direction.

In Fig. 8 a modied construction is illustrated which is substantially identical with the construction illustrated in Figs. l to 7 except for the location of the dial 71. In the modified construction the shaft 48 does not extend through the decorative casing 24 but instead, mounts a gear 70. The dial 71 with suitable indicia thereon is y mounted to rotate on a shaft 72 journaled in and depending from the top wall 19 of the inner compartment 2t). The dial 71 is located below the top wall 19 and projects outwardly through a suitable slot 73 in the front of the decorative casing. Shaft 72 extends upwardly above the top wall 19 of the casing and mounts a gear 74. An intermediate gear 75 is mounted on a stub Shaft 76 projecting upwardly from the top wall 19 and meshes with the gears and 74 to transmit the rotation of the dial 70 to the shaft 48. The modified construction illustrated in Fig. 8 operates in exactly the same way as previously described with respect to the construction illustrated in Figs. l to 7.

It will now be observed that the present invention provides a room air conditioner for cooling and dehumidifying the air in a room and having separate dampers controlled by a single movable element to supply fresh outside air to or exhaust stale air from the room. It will also be observed that the present invention provides a rotatable control element movable in either direction to operate separate fresh and exhaust air dampers at different angular positions. It will also be observed that the present invention provides a single dial control having a shaft for operating control switches and cams to actuate separate fresh and exhaust air dampers in a coordinated sequence to either cool and dehumidify the air, ventilate with or without cooling, or exhaust stale air. It will still further be observed that the present invention provides a control arrangement for a room air conditioner which is or simple and compact construction, economical to manufacture and reliable in operation.

While two embodiments of the invention are herein illustrated and described, it will be understood that further changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, without limitation in this respect, the invention is dei-ined by the following claims.

l. A room air conditioner comprising a compartment having a cooling element therein, means for supplying a cooling medium to the cooling element comprising a compressor, a motor operated fan for circulating room air through the compartment and cooling element therein, an opening to the compartment atY the inlet Side of the fan and communicating with the atmosphere outside the room, a second opening from the compartment at the outlet side of the fan and communicating with the atmosphere outside the room, a damper for each opening, a lever connectcd to each damper, a switch boit having switches for controlling operation of the compressor and fan motor, and a single control element Comprising a rotatable shaft for actuating the switches in the switch box in a predetermined sequence and cams on the shaft for actuating the levers to coordinate the opening and closing of the dampers at different angular positions of the shaft with the actuation of the switches in the switch box.

2. A room air conditioner comprising a housing adapted to be mounted in an opening in the wall of a room, said housing having a transverse wall dividing the housing into an inner compartment projecting into the room and an outer compartment projecting outwardly from the room, a second wall in the inner compartment for dividing it into upper and lower chambers, a refrigeration system having a compressor, a heat receiving element in the inner compartment and a heat rejecting element in the outer com partment, a fan in each compartment for circulating room air through the inner compartment and heat receiving element and outside air through the outer compartment and heat rejecting element, a motor for operating said fans, said inner compartment fan having an inlet in the lower chamber and an outlet from the upper chamber, a fresh air inlet in a portion or" the transverse walt at the side of the lower chamber, a second exhaust opening in the transverse wall from the upper chamber, a damper for each opening, a lever connected to each damper= a switch box having switches for controlling operation of the compressor and fan motor, a rotatable shaft for actuating the switches in the switch box in a predetermined sequence, and cams on the shaft for actuating the levers for opening and closing the dempers at diterent angular positions of the shaft.

3. A room air conditioner comprising a housing adapted to be mounted in an opening in the wall of a room, a transverse wall dividing the housing into an inner coin-y j partrne'nt projecting into the room andan outer 'compartmen'tprojecting 'outwardly from the room, `a second wall for dividing the inne'r compartment into upper and lower chambers, a refrigeration system having a compressor,V aA heat receiving element in the lower chamber of the inner compartment and a heat rejecting element in the outer compartment, fans for circulating room air through the inner compartment and heat receiving element and outside air through Vthe 'outer compartment and heat rejecting element, an electric motor for operating the fans, an opening i'n the transverse wall to the lower chamber, a housing projecting rearwardly from the opening through 'the outer compartment to the exterior ofl'the housing, a second opening in the transverse wall from the upper chamber of the inner compartment to the outerV compartment, hinged doors for the openings, springs for yieldingly holding the doors in closed position, levers mounted Vto rock irrd'epend-V ently on a common pivot, links connecting one "end 'ofy References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,290,973 Jewell July 28, 1942 2,343,121 Eberhart Feb, 29, 1944 2,45l,366 Terry Oct. l2, 1948 2,472,792 Cohler June 14, l194,9 2,488,589 Eberhart Nov. 22, 1949 

